# 1976 Cincinnati Bengals season

The 1976 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's 7th season in the National Football League, and the 9th overall.
Paul Brown had announced his retirement after 41 seasons of coaching and named Bill Johnson, his longtime assistant, as the successor over future San Francisco Head coach Bill Walsh. Brown continued to serve as the club's general manager and vice president. The Bengals acquired defensive end Coy Bacon in a trade with San Diego and drafted halfback Archie Griffin, the two-time Heisman Trophy winner from Ohio State. The Bengals won nine of their first 11 games and finished 10–4, but did not make the playoffs.

## Offseason
### NFL Draft

1976 Cincinnati Bengals draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 11 | Billy Brooks | Wide receiver | Oklahoma |
| 1 | 24 | Archie Griffin | Running back | Ohio State |
| 2 | 38 | Glenn Bujnoch | Guard | Texas A&M |
| 2 | 51 | Chris Bahr | Placekicker | Penn State |
| 3 | 69 | Danny Reece | Defensive back | USC |
| 3 | 82 | Reggie Williams | Linebacker | Dartmouth |
| 4 | 106 | Tony Davis | Running back | Nebraska |
| 4 | 116 | Greg Fairchild | Guard | Tulsa |
| 5 | 138 | Willie Shelby | Running back | Alabama |
| 5 | 147 | Scott Perry | Defensive back | Williams |
| 6 | 176 | Orlando Nelson | Tight end | Utah State |
| 7 | 187 | Bob Bateman | Quarterback | Brown |
| 7 | 192 | Carmen Rome | Defensive back | Miami (OH) |
| 7 | 205 | Ken Kuhn | Linebacker | Ohio State |
| 8 | 232 | Ron Hunt | Offensive tackle | Oregon |
| 9 | 259 | Lonnie Allgood | Wide receiver | Syracuse |
| 10 | 287 | Tom Klaban | Placekicker | Ohio State |
| 11 | 314 | Melvin Morgan | Defensive back | Mississippi Valley State |
| 12 | 341 | Joe Dale Harris | Wide receiver | Alabama |
| 13 | 371 | Randy Walker | Running back | Miami (OH) |
| 14 | 398 | Greg Coleman | Punter | Florida A&M |
| 15 | 425 | Lynn Hieber | Quarterback | Indiana (PA) |
| 16 | 455 | George Demopoulis | Center | Miami (FL) |
| 17 | 482 | Scott Dannelley | Guard | Ohio State |
| Made roster ||||||

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
| 1 | September 12 | Denver Broncos | W 17–7 | 1–0 | Riverfront Stadium | Recap |
| 2 | September 19 | at Baltimore Colts | L 27–28 | 1–1 | Memorial Stadium | Recap |
| 3 | September 26 | Green Bay Packers | W 28–7 | 2–1 | Riverfront Stadium | Recap |
| 4 | October 3 | at Cleveland Browns | W 45–24 | 3–1 | Cleveland Stadium | Recap |
| 5 | October 10 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 21–0 | 4–1 | Riverfront Stadium | Recap |
| 6 | October 17 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 6–23 | 4–2 | Three Rivers Stadium | Recap |
| 7 | October 24 | at Houston Oilers | W 27–7 | 5–2 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 8 | October 31 | Cleveland Browns | W 21–6 | 6–2 | Riverfront Stadium | Recap |
| 9 | November 8 | Los Angeles Rams | W 20–12 | 7–2 | Riverfront Stadium | Recap |
| 10 | November 14 | Houston Oilers | W 31–27 | 8–2 | Riverfront Stadium | Recap |
| 11 | November 21 | at Kansas City Chiefs | W 27–24 | 9–2 | Arrowhead Stadium | Recap |
| 12 | November 28 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 3–7 | 9–3 | Riverfront Stadium | Recap |
| 13 | December 6 | at Oakland Raiders | L 20–35 | 9–4 | Oakland Coliseum | Recap |
| 14 | December 12 | at New York Jets | W 42–3 | 10–4 | Shea Stadium | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### Standings

AFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Pittsburgh Steelers$^{(3)}$ | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 5–1 | 9–3 | 342 | 138 | W9 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 4–2 | 8–4 | 335 | 210 | W1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 3–3 | 7–5 | 267 | 287 | L1 |
| Houston Oilers | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 0–6 | 3–9 | 222 | 273 | L2 |

### Team stats

1976 Cincinnati Bengals Team Stats :
* TEAM STATS
* TOTAL FIRST DOWNS
* Rushing
* Passing
* Penalty
* TOTAL NET YARDS
* Avg Per Game
* Total Plays
* Avg. Per Play
* NET YARDS RUSHING
* Avg. Per Game
* Total Rushes
* NET YARDS PASSING
* Avg. Per Game
* Sacked Yards Lost
* Gross Yards
* Att. Completions
* Completion Pct.
* Intercepted
* PUNTS-AVERAGE
* PENALTIES-YARDS
* FUMBLES-BALL LOST
* TOUCHDOWNS
* Rushing
* Passing
* Returns
| Score by Periods | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Tot |
| Bengals | | | | | |
| Opponents | | | | | |

### Team leaders

* Passing: Ken Anderson (338 Att, 179 Comp, 2367 Yds, 53.0 Pct, 19 TD, 14 Int, 76.9 Rating)
* Rushing: Boobie Clark (151 Att, 671 Yds, 4.4 Avg, 24 Long, 7 TD)
* Receiving: Isaac Curtis (41 Rec, 766 Yds, 18.7 Avg, 85 Long, 6 TD)
* Scoring: Chris Bahr, 81 points (14 FG; 39 PAT)

## Awards and records

* Ken Riley, Franchise Record, Most Interceptions in One Season, (9)

### Pro Bowl Selections

* QB Ken Anderson
* DE Coy Bacon
* S Tommy Casanova
* WR Isaac Curtis
* LB Jim LeClair
* CB Lemar Parrish